The present application is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,126,341 which is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001 which now U.S. Pat. No. 6,909,287 is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/564,740, filed May 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,762, which in turn claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/132,622, filed May 5, 1999, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/165,208, filed Nov. 12, 1999, and Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/175,762, filed Jan. 12, 2000, which is a Continuation-In-Part of Ser. No. 08/962,754, filed Nov. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,098, application Ser. No. 10/200,041 is also a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 09/816,768,” filed Mar. 23, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,941 which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/192,222, filed Mar. 27, 2000, application Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001 is also a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 09/575,627, filed May 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,608, which is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 08/962,754, filed Nov. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,098. This application is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/388,855, filed Mar. 14, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,930,485 which claims priority to provisional Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002, the present application is also a Continuation-In-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2, 2002, now abandoned which claims priority to provisional Ser. No. 60/330,441, filed Oct. 17, 2001, and the present application is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,151 which is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001 which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/564,740, filed May 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,762, which in turn claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/132,622, filed May 5, 1999, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/165,208, filed Nov. 12, 1999, and Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/175,762, filed Jan. 12, 2000, which is a Continuation-In-Part of Ser. No. 08/962,754, filed Nov. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,098, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to automotive vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to an energy management and monitor system for a battery of an automotive vehicle.
Automotive vehicles powered by combustion engines typically include a battery. The battery is used to power the electrical system when the engine is not running. Additionally, the engine is used to charge the battery. The engine is also used to power electrical components of the vehicle when the engine is running.
Vehicles contain charging systems, simply referred to as an “alternator,” which are powered by the engine and used to charge the battery. Typical prior art charging systems have been a simple voltage regulator connected to the output of an alternator. The voltage regulator is used to set a voltage generated by the alternator which is applied to the battery. However, this simple technique does not take into account the actual condition of the battery as the voltage across the battery is not an accurate representation of the battery's condition. Additionally, such systems do not provide any information about the use of the battery, or the battery's current state of charge or state of health.